I spent the first half of my career writing about complex academic research for mainstream magazine audiences. Astrophysics, archeology, economics, immunotherapy -- I wandered university campuses and wrote about whatever interested me (confession: pretty much everything interests me). My writing has been cited by The New York Times, Wilson Quarterly, The Aspen Institute, and countless academic papers and books. I also have published essays and short stories about the complicated fact of being a mom.

In the second half of my career, I co-founded and served as head of Urban Prairie Waldorf School, a progressive pre-K through 8th grade elementary school on the near west side of Chicago. During my time as head of school, I led a capital campaign to build a nature-based play area on an asphalt lot; supported faculty initiatives to reshape our curriculum to meet the diverse students in our urban population; reorganized school administration to clarify roles and responsibilities; streamlined policies and re-invigorated communications; spearheaded the effort to receive the US Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools award; and invested significant resources to transform our capacity to identify and teach students with learning disabilities and ADHD.

Along the way, I've raised three sons with lots of good books, outdoor free play, and garden vegetables. I live in Hyde Park on the south side of Chicago, where I love to swim in the Lake, walk my old dog, listen to birds, and watch flowers bloom, fade, and bloom again.